24.3.09

R.E.M- Chronic Town (1982)

Chronic Town was R.E.M's second outing on vinyl, something of a compromise in that manager Jefferson Holt felt that the band should release a longer record, but that they were not ready to make an album.

The hallmarks of R.E.M's early sound are here: jangling arpeggios and sometimes indiscernable vocals.

There was a typical obscurity about the packaging; why have side one and side two when you can have a Chronic Town side and a Poster Torn side, and why put the tracklisting in the correct order?